ON FRIERFERD: Prime Minister Erna Solberg (H) and the Conservatives’ 1st candidate in Nordland, Bård Ludvig Thorheim, on the train between Mo i Rana and Bodø. Photo: Jørgen Braastad
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MO IN RANA / BODØ (VG) The Conservatives’ goal is to get at least as much support as in the previous parliamentary elections, says Erna Solberg (H) to VG. She has not yet given up the fight for Northern Norway.
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– We have much better results than some people give the government credit for, says Prime Minister Erna Solberg (H).
She is sitting in the café carriage on the Nordlandsbanen, which is operated by Swedish SJ after Solberg’s government exposed train traffic in Norway to competition. With her is the Conservative Party’s first candidate in Nordland, Bård Ludvig Thorheim.
– We have many large industrial establishments that are underway, we have good framework conditions for green jobs and a lot that happens with small and medium-sized companies, says Solberg.
Solberg has set aside a full four days for the Northern Norway tour, with a packed program from Mo i Rana to Tromsø. Even 15 minutes with Thorheim’s grandfather is written into a strict schedule.
—-BREAKTHROUGH: Prime Minister Erna Solberg (H) enjoyed herself on a competitive train ride. Photo: Jørgen Braastad
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The goal is the 2017 result
But the prime minister is not at home this week. In June, only answered half of Conservative 2017 voters in the three northernmost counties that they will vote Conservative this year.
And at last poll before the summer holidays, the Conservatives received only 16 per cent in Nordland, compared with 20.2 in the parliamentary elections four years ago.
– Do you think 16 percent in Nordland is good enough, Solberg?
– No, we have a goal of achieving the election result we had last time. Preferably more, we accept all votes we get.
1 of 3Photo: Jørgen Braastad
The Prime Minister emphasizes that there is a long way between two and three seats in Nordland for the Conservative Party.
– But it helps in the countryside, and of course all the votes we get help to get any equalization mandates. We like to take more than the results we had last time, she says.
– Is that good enough, Thorheim?
– Our goal is to get two seats.
– You had that in the previous round. You have no goal of growing?
– We aim to grow, but for us it is realistic to keep two, and I think we will manage it. I think we have a chance to match what we got four years ago, but if we manage to keep the two mandates in Nordland, then we have done a good job.
—-IRAQ: In Mo i Rana, Erna Solberg met apprentices who work in industrial companies on the Helgeland coast. In her speech to the young people, she told about the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein who employed everyone with higher education in the state. Photo: Jørgen Braastad
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– But are you happy with the 16 percent then?
– I would have liked to have reached 20, but our job is to get two seats, says Thorheim.
– Violent growth in the north
– Could you have done something better in the north in recent years?
– There are certainly things we could have done better, but we should not fail to do the things that make the services in Norway better, says Solberg.
– There has been a lot of noise around some cases, such as police reform and college reform, which have now landed and are well underway. Along the way, an image of centralization has been created, but if we get to what is now going on in the Norwegian business community, then there is actually tremendous growth in the north.
—-TRAIN IN THE NORTH: Now the requirement is trains to Tromsø. Here is Erna Solberg with Nordlandsbanen’s father, Ole Tobias Olsen. Photo: Jørgen Braastad
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– Do you think that what needs to be done to win the northerners back has already been done or is on the way, or that you need to put in more?
– It is never the case that you win elections on what you have done, but it is a proof and a proof of what you will achieve in the future.
– Do you think that people will eventually understand that you were right, for example about police reform?
– I think time will tell, but the question is whether it will show up before the election. This will be a battle for reality, but we believe we have good cards on hand.
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